The Faithless
by Brighteyes of Thunderclan
Summary: He talks funny. His crouch is strange. He's always quiet. He even walks differently. This is the life of Pepperpaw. Born a rogue, the tom dreams of his lost family. He has high hopes of finding them, but, for now, he's stuck in a clan. A clan that will never truly see him. Not even the stars gaze down on him, or so he's told. But Starclan, they're just kit tales. Or so he thinks...


"Pepperpaw!" The speckled brown tom looked up from where he was sharing a sparrow with Amberpaw, the prettiest apprentice in Darkclan, to see his best friend dashing across camp.

"Sorry, Amberpaw." He sighed. The ginger she-cat batted her big blue eyes and smiled.

"It's okay, Pepperpaw." She shrugged. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, o-okay." Pepperpaw stammered with a grin. Then, he bolted.

"Pepperpaw!" His friend chirped excitedly. "You'll never believe wha-"

"Shiverpaw!" Pepperpaw snapped. "Can't you see I was eating with Amberpaw? _The_ Amberpaw? The first time she _ever_ talks to me without Stagpaw and Fallowpaw interrupting, calling me a fleabag, and pulling her away? You just ruined what could been the start of a relationship!" Pepperpaw complained, his gaze becoming starry and distant at the end. Shiverpaw snickered.

"You moony 'paw! Amberpaw's cute, sure, but you'll never guess what Splashwing just told me!" He grinned.

"What?" Pepperpaw asked, annoyed that Shiverpaw had broken him out of his fantasies. Again.

"We get to go to the Moonpool tomorrow!" Shiverpaw yowled, bouncing up and down, whiskers quivering.

"Pipe _down_!" Pepperpaw hissed, slapping his brown, speckled tail over Shiverpaw's mouth. "It's past twilight! You're gonna wake the whole camp!"

"Sorry." Shiverpaw meowed, not looking sorry at all. "But isn't that great? We get to speak with _Starclan_!"

"Yeah, yeah. Great." Pepperpaw nodded absentmindedly, thoughts on Amberpaw as her watched her glowing ginger form disappear into the apprentice den. "I think I'm gonna go catch some sleep. See you in the morning." Pepperpaw padded away, leaving Shiverpaw alone. The silver tom shrugged, and walked over to where his parents, Lilywhisker and Rowanstep, sat.

"Hey guys, guess what?" He smiled…

Pepperpaw entered the dark, warm apprentice den. He saw Amberpaw curled up in her emerald nest, feather lined, of course. He noticed a pale gray one next to her nose, and how it fluttered when she breathed. He fought the urge to brush it away with his tail, and curl up beside her. Pepperpaw padded away and flopped down into his own nest, wincing as he landed. _Stupid pebbles._ He grunted as they dug into his side. He could feel the stony ground beneath the moss. _Guess it's getting thin._ Pepperpaw thought. _Should probably fix it tomorrow. Oh, wait. We're going to the Moonpool._ He remembered. Most apprentices would be excited to the point where they'd be jumping out of their fur. But not Pepperpaw.

Born a rogue, he had gotten lost in a blizzard, separated from his family. He was young, but old enough to become an apprentice. Eight moons old when they found him, Pepperpaw was rooted in his own beliefs. He worshipped whatever put prey in his mouth and gave him a warm place to sleep. That's what his mother had taught him.

"_The only thing you can trust enough to believe in is yourself, Pepper. And even then, you can't always trust your brain. Use your instincts."_ The speckled brown tom could hear his mother's firm mew even now, after all this time. The no-nonsense Zora was a she-cat of few words, a cat of action. She taught her son to hunt, and the basics of fighting without so much as a single word between the two of them. _Oh, ma. Pa. I miss y'all. _Pepperpaw thought, eyes closing. He always thought, if he closed his eyes and strained enough, the cats from his memories would appear in front of him. Zora, tall and stately, with her bright blue eyes and striking brown tabby and white fur. His father, Sam, with his thick golden pelt, warm amber eyes, and deep, rumbling purr. His siblings, Robin and Rye. Robin's brown pelt with reddish-brown ear tips and belly, eyes like Pa's. Rye's golden tabby pelt with her white paws and tail tip, blue eyes like Zora's. They had always traveled, never staying in one place too long because Pa said Ma had 'the itch'. She could never stay still. All the kits knew that this was never the life Zora expected. A young she-cat, saddled with three kits, a mate moons her senior, and another litter on the way. To boot, Zora and Sam had always wanted very different things in life.

Zora had always expected to be roaming the wilderness, adventuring, exploring, and constantly traveling. Alone. Sam, well, being older, he wanted to settle down _"In a warm, deep den in the ground in a field of wildflowers, beside a forest, near a babbling brook."_ Pepperpaw remembered his father saying. He had wanted many litters of kits, so he'd forever have cats he loved around him. He wanted to grow old in that den in the meadow, near the stream, beside the forest, with his mate, surrounded by family. But Pepperpaw knew that Sam loved Zora and would do anything for her. That's the way he worked. Wherever they ended up, Sam would make the kits feel comfortable. But Zora…_Oh, Ma…she would have those days._ Pepperpaw remembered. _The dark days._ That's what he, Robin, and Rye would call them. The days when Zora would snap at the kits, and leave the family den for hours, sometimes days on end. _But she'd always come back._ Pepperpaw thought. _Pa said that. "She'll always come back."_ Zora would rant, and scream that she never wanted kits, never wanted the responsibility of caring for constantly hungry, mewling mouths. She would yowl that she never wanted a mate, or a family. That this wasn't her life. This wasn't her dream. Zora never wanted kits, and yet, somehow, Sam had convinced her into having a second litter. _It was then that we left_. _Ma was pregnant. Two moons in, or something. That's what Pa had said. _Pepperpaw thought. He shivered. _And that was the night. _

_A snowstorm hit when we were walkin' to find the next den. We had left the one that we had in the pile of chopped up trees the up-walkers had. It was snowin' real hard. And suddenly, I couldn't see anyone anymore. Not Pa or Rye's golden fur through the snow. Not Ma, or Robin even. No one. And I couldn't hear anyone, not through the howlin' wind. And then…I fell asleep. In the snow, frozen. Then they found me._ That was how Pepperpaw had come to Darkclan.

But, to this day, Pepperpaw never let go of that saying. _"The only thing you can trust enough to believe in is yourself. And even then, you can't always trust your brain. Use your instincts."_ It was his one last lifeline to his family. _They're out there. Somewhere. And certainly not in Starclan, or whatever Shiverpaw calls it. That doesn't exist. Dead cats up in the sky? It doesn't make sense. Not like the other stuff they have here. It's not logical._ Pepperpaw thought, rolling over. He liked the strict regimen and rules they had in Darkclan. It reminded him of the way Zora ran the family. No-nonsense. And that Starclan, that was nonsense.

_Figures Stagpaw and Fallowpaw believe in those kit-tales. _Pepperpaw groaned out loud. _They just love bein' my opposite. From the minute I get here, they make fun of the way I talk, the way I hunt and fight. And, especially, the way I live and think. Well, the way I lived. Past tense now. But I still think like a rogue._ Pepperpaw reminded himself. _And y'all will never let me forget it, will you?_ Yeah, Pepperpaw had that southern drawl that the clancats laughed at, and yeah, his crouch was a little funny. So was the way he tucked his tail between his legs when he fought, and how he knew how to swim. But it was their problem if they didn't like it. _I'm still a cat. Aren't I? I still live in Darkclan. So what if I don't believe in all that Starclan jazz? It's ridiculous anyhow. Dead cats in the sky, looking down on us? Pfft. Yeah, right. And I'm a hillbilly mouse. But I won't tell Shiverpaw. Don't want to ruin his 'shining moment' with a bunch of hallucinations that don't-and will never-exist._

The speckled brown tom pictured his family one last time, their smiling faces, happy purrs, and soft pelts surrounding him, before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Pepperpaw!"

"Ungh?"

"Pepperpaw, get up!"

"Mmm…"

"Come _on_! Hurry _up_!"

"Oof! Hey, watch it!"

"You're awake!"

"Now I am, thanks to y'all."

Amberpaw giggled at the friends' exchange.

"He's been poking you _forever_." She purred. "It's about time you woke up, Pepperpaw." He squinted his amber eyes at the ginger she-cat.

"Why're you up so early, like a cock at dawn? It ain't natural." Pepperpaw grumbled, getting to his paws slowly.

"Didn't Shiverpaw tell you? All the apprentices are going to the Moonpool!" Amberpaw smiled. "Isn't it exciting?" _Not another one…_

"Yeah. Yup. Sure! Exciting." Pepperpaw forced a grin. "I'm thrilled." Amberpaw cocked her head, and gave Pepperpaw a small look of disbelief. But it was gone in an instant. _I must've imagined it…_

"Apprentices! You all are a bunch roosting hens this morning, hmm?" Splashwing poked her head inside the den, eyes lit with annoyance. "Come along! Best get the traveling herbs sooner than later." Once the tortie's back was turned, Shiverpaw made a face.

"Eugh!" He whispered, "Herbs! Those things are nasty!"

"Well, they can't be worse than what Ma made us eat." Pepperpaw mewed, shrugging.

"What'd your mother make you eat?" Amberpaw asked curiously. Pepperpaw puffed himself up proudly. Amberpaw was the only one who seemed to like listening to his stories from when he wasn't in Darkclan. Maybe it was because she was the only cat in the Clan who didn't have a family, either. Hers had all died when she was a kit. Stagpaw and Fallowpaw scoffed at every mention of his former life. Gopherpaw and Creekpaw were too old to pay any attention to the smaller, younger apprentice's antics, and Shiverpaw just got distracted easily. As in, every five seconds. Whenever Pepperpaw tried to talk to Shiverpaw about his parents, he'd end up talking to himself, and merely pretend that Shiverpaw was listening. He had found, though, that Amberpaw would listen intently from afar. It made him quiver with delight whenever she noticed him.

"Well, for starters, in Leafbare-or what we called the White-World season, she'd make us eat bugs we found under stones and logs, and tree bark. Sometimes even cow dung from barns, but that was only on the worst days." Pepperpaw shuddered at the memory and Amberpaw stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"That's terrible! I wonder wha-" She began, only to have Stagpaw and Fallowpaw swagger in and interrupt.

"Amber, come on. Let's walk up front. I heard Nighthowl has a new story from the raid on Shadowclan last night." Stagpaw meowed, wrapping his tail over Amberpaw's shoulders. Pepperpaw sagged in defeat, turned to Shiverpaw, and rolled his eyes. _Of course they'd show up _now _of all times_. He thought. And, of course, Shiverpaw wasn't even looking at him. He was chasing a butterfly. _That cat'll be the death of me!_ Pepperpaw groaned inwardly before dashing after his friend. Amberpaw, from her place beside Stagpaw, almost called after the tom. But she held her tongue. _Guess he doesn't want to talk to me…_She thought.

"Here we are, cats." Splashwing meowed loudly over the chattering of the seven apprentices. Well, the chattering of the five apprentices. Amberpaw, Stagpaw, and Fallowpaw were standing beside Nighthowl and mewing excitedly about the dark tom's plans for tomorrow's battle training session. Gopherpaw and Creekpaw rested a little behind, and were complaining about lack of sleep. At the back of the pack, Pepperpaw sulked in silence while Shiverpaw sniffed buttercups and batted at caterpillars. _Why me?_ Pepperpaw thought. _No. That was mean. Shiverpaw's my best friend._ He reprimanded himself.

"Excuse me? Pepperpaw, what did I just say?" Splashwing snapped, blue gaze piercing the brown tom. Pepperpaw felt his pelt go hot with embarrassment.

"Umm…uhh…no making dirt by the Moonpool?" He stuttered. Splashwing rolled her eyes while the others snickered.

"No. Care to try again, without any more funny business?" The warrior sneered. Pepperpaw's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, I don't know-don't talk trash to your superiors, even when they're clearly a load of pigeon butts who deserve it?" He deadpanned, eyes wide and innocent. Splashwing's face contorted with anger at the reference to the dirtiest birds in the territories. Pepperpaw tried to conceal the wide grin threatening to pop onto his muzzle. Judging by Splashwing's face, he hadn't done a very good job.

"Such impertinence! When we return, you shall spend your day cleaning out the elder's den and the nursery, not practicing techniques with Nighthowl. I _said_: Once we reach the Moonpool, which is only a few tail lengths away, on my signal, you will touch your noses to the surface. Remember, silence is key. I will wake you once the moonlight vanishes and we shall begin our journey home." Splashwing meowed impatiently. She turned, flicking her tail for the others to follow. Before she began, however, the she-cat looked once more at Pepperpaw.

"And next time, Pepperpaw, please refrain from visiting Pepperpaw-Land while I'm giving important instructions. If it happens again, you won't get off so lightly. Understood?" The warrior asked, tone sharp.

"Yes Splashwing." The young tom mumbled, looking at his paws. As the patrol continued up the rocky slope, Shiverpaw glanced at Pepperpaw sympathetically.

"Oooh." He meowed, "Harsh one!"

"So _now_ you pay attention!" Pepperpaw sighed sarcastically. "Figures."

"Hey! Your welcome for the _sympathy_." Shiverpaw frowned. "You're such a grump today. Maybe you deserve to walk alone, _pigeon butt_." The silver tom stalked off, and padded up next to Stagpaw, Fallowpaw, and Amberpaw. The latter glanced back, a slight, pensive frown on her face. _There we go. Lost another one._ Pepperpaw thought bitterly. _Maybe I'm not cut out for the Clans. Y'all can keep all your pretty little traditions. See if I care. I'll go home._ He growled in the back of his throat. _Not that I know where home _is_ anymore…_Pepperpaw padded on in silence, even more stonily than before. Finally, after some time, he felt a soft pelt brush his own. Looking up, he found himself lost in the clear blue gaze of Amberpaw.

"Thought you were done with me." He muttered.

"No. I thought you'd be happy to see me. Guess we're both wrong." She chuckled, before seeing Pepperpaw wasn't in the mood. "Sorry." She murmured.

"Nah, I'm sorry. To all o' y'all." Pepperpaw sighed. "I've been sourer than a badger in a trap." He looked away. "I'm the real pigeon butt." He smiled grimly.

"Well, I thought that was really brave." Amberpaw breathed. "You, standing up to Splashwing like that. Not one of us likes her. She's a puffed up warrior. I thought you were fabulous."

"Really?" Pepperpaw managed a small smile.

"Truly." Amberpaw purred. Then, she frowned again. "But…I've been wondering…Everyone's so excited to meet Starclan, except you. What's wrong?"

"Oh. So you noticed, then?" Pepperpaw mewed sheepishly. "I didn't really want anyone…to, you know. I don't have the heart to tell Shiverpaw, who's now madder than a fox in a fit at me." He scowled.

"Tell him what?" Amberpaw pressed.

"That I don't believe in Starclan." The tom stated. Amberpaw's eyes widened, but otherwise she didn't seem so surprised.

"So that's it then. That's why. Tell me, why don't you?" She wondered.

"Ma always said, 'The only thing you can trust enough to believe in is yourself, Pepper. And even then, you can't always trust your brain. Use your instincts.' It stuck. You can only trust your instincts. Everything else…well, that's for them superstitious cats." Pepperpaw explained. Amberpaw nodded.

"I get that. But these…these are our own. Our cats, our family." She said almost wistfully. "There's nothing anyone can do _but_ trust them."

"Whatever you say." Pepperpaw shrugged.

"You'll see." Amberpaw meowed certainly.

* * *

Pepperpaw looked around at all the others. All six of them, so peaceful, with their noses pressed precisely against the shining surface of the pool. Even he had to admit, it did look beautiful. Magical, even. Cautiously, the speckled brown tom lowered himself to the chilled stone and strained to reach. Finally, he felt the cool water on the delicate skin of his nose. Closing his eyes, Pepperpaw fell asleep, bathed in moonlight.

He expected blackness. Either that, or dreams. So Pepperpaw wasn't at all surprised to find himself in a plush meadow, filled with dozens of purple, white, and yellow tiny flowers. In the soft, warm, quiet air, Pepperpaw could detect the telltale babble of a shimmering silver stream and small, twittering calls of birds. To his right, he spotted a forest, thick and lush and teeming with life. When he turned around, Pepperpaw saw a large hole in the ground. Though it was dark, it was nonetheless inviting. The entrance was laced with large, fluffy patches of pink wildflowers, and shielded from the glowing sun by gently swinging vine tendrils. All around him, he could sense the lazy beat of butterfly wings, the quick patter of mouse-steps, and the steady thrum of hummingbirds in flight. Puffy white cloud adorned the sky, which was as big, and blue, and beautiful as Amberpaw's eyes. Pepperpaw breathed in deeply, and caught the sweet scent of honey and flowers, along with the delightful, musky smell of rabbits nearby. _Now this, _he thought, _Is Pa's place._ Almost as soon as he thought it, the young tom saw the vines at the hole's entrance quiver. He tensed, preparing to run, but instead of the pointed face of a fox or badger, he saw a familiar one. One of golden fur and soft amber eyes. One of memories.

"Pa?" He whispered. The tom didn't seem to hear Pepperpaw, instead, he emerged fully from the den, and called out behind him:

"It's a beautiful day! Come on out, and enjoy the sunshine." Pepperpaw trembled. _His voice…it's exactly the same._ From the hole popped out two shining faces.

"Robin? Rye?" Pepperpaw breathed. His siblings smiled at their father and lept out, beginning a prancing, frolicking dance through the field of bright green grass. Laughing, they chased each other.

"Catch me! Catch me if you can!" Rye's warm, buttery voice filled the air, Robin's joyful laughter ringing out beside it. Pepperpaw dashed to them.

"Robin! Rye! You're alive! And you're here!" He purred, chasing after his siblings. But the two young cats merely kept up their game. "Wait for me you guys!" Pepperpaw grinned. With a burst of warrior-esque speed, the tom caught up to his sister, and proceeded to tap her playfully on the flank. But his paw swished right through her.

"What the-?" Pepperpaw wondered. _No, I must've just missed her. That's all._ He assured himself. A sound distracted Pepperpaw from the game. It was the brusque voice of his mother. Whipping around, Pepperpaw found himself gazing at Zora herself. The she-cat had come out of the hole, smiling. _It's a good day._ He could tell. Almost as if he had never left._ She's happy._ Pepperpaw opened his mouth to call to her when a squeak startled him. Out from behind Zora rocketed three tiny balls of fur. A white one, a miniature copy of Zora, and a dark golden one.

"I'm gonna get there first!" The white one squealed.

"No way, Piper! Me first! Me first!" The golden one mewed.

"Ma likes me best!" The brown and white one chirped, "You have no chance, Thorn! I go first!"

"Not on your _life_, squeaky!" Piper, the white kit, frowned. "Ma doesn't like any of y'all more than she likes me!"

"Yeah she does! She likes me better! So shuddup!" The brown and white one, _a tom_ Pepperpaw noticed, spoke again.

"You shuddup, Sparrow!" Thorn, the dark golden tom, play-growled.

"Kittens!" Sam purred. "Each of you will get in the water today, don't worry. Right, darlin'?" He mewed, looking loving at Zora after nuzzling each of his young children. _So they were born! Three of them! They're so cute…_ Pepperpaw thought longingly. He watched his mother smile and nod.

"Of course." The striking she-cat meowed. "Come along, now." Pepperpaw dashed up to his mother.

"Ma! Ma! I'm back, see?" He purred, looking at her. Zora looked past him, as if he wasn't even there.

"Ma? Don't you see me? Don't you remember me? I'm your son! Pepper!" Pepperpaw meowed desperately. Zora kept on walking purposefully towards the stream.

"Ma! Ma! It's me!" Pepperpaw threw himself in front of Zora. She paused. He looked her in the eye. "Ma, don't you love me anymore?" He asked. Zora kept walking. Straight through Pepperpaw. The apprentice gasped as the strange sensation passed. For the first time since he arrived, Pepperpaw looked at himself.

"No!" He breathed. All Pepperpaw could see of himself was…nothing. No, wait, if he stared hard enough, he could see a faint, shimmering outline of where his paws should be.

"I-I'm not really here." He stammered. "This is a dream. This is all just a terrible, teasing dream and I will wake up! Right now!" He squeezed his eyes shut, and, after five long seconds, opened them again. He was still in the meadow. He could still feel the grass, smell the flowers, hear the stream, and see his family. "I will wake up!" He commanded himself. Pepperpaw tried again. Nothing. "I _will_!" He yowled. "I will I will I will! I WILL WAKE UP!" He screamed to the blue skies. But nothing happened. Until a voice sounded behind him.

"This is a dream. But you will not wake up. Not until I tell you to." The voice said. Pepperpaw whirled around. But no cat stood before him.

"Who are you?" He called. "Where are you? Come out now!"

"I cannot come out." The voice said, this time from his left. Pepperpaw looked frantically. No one was there.

"Show yourself!" He screamed.

"I'm afraid that is impossible." The cat mewed coolly.

"Show yourself, or, or I'm gonna to have to hurt you!" Pepperpaw growled, trying to stay brave, but failing miserably. His voice shook.

"I have told you, that is impossible." The voice stated, coming from above, now. Pepperpaw jerked his head up, and saw only clouds. "Impossible," The voice continued, "unless."

"Unless what?" Pepperpaw asked fearfully.

"Unless…" The voice mused, "you believe."

"B-b-believe what?" The apprentice stuttered.

"Believe in me." The voice meowed. Then suddenly, more joined it, surrounding Pepperpaw in a symphony of sound as they said: "Believe in _all of us_." The tom flinched, crouching low to the ground.

"I-I'll do anything!" He whimpered, "Anything! Name it!"

"We cannot show ourselves out of your fear, young'un. Only your hope." A wise, older voice spoke alone.

"Hope?" Pepperpaw wondered quietly.

"Yes. Hope. Hope that you'll see your family again. Hope that your friend will forgive you. Hope that your crush," Pepperpaw's eyes widened with surprise, "Amberpaw, will one day love you in return. Hope that the other cats of Darkclan will see past your differences and accept you. Hope that Splashwing will stop her incessant punishments. Hope that you will become a true warrior." The voices murmured. Pepperpaw shivered. _All my worries in one shot…_He thought.

"Yes, Pepperpaw." The original voice returned, and it felt as if the mysterious speaker were standing right beside him. "We know you. You may not know us, but we watch you, small one." The voice turned kindly.

"Ain't that a mite creepy?" He mewed finally. The voices chuckled, and the sound echoed around the muted landscape.

"We care about you, Pepperpaw. But we need you to believe."

"If-if I need to believe y'all, then answer my questions." Pepperpaw said, straightening up.

"Alright." The original voice agreed. The other voices, in turn, murmured their consent.

"Firstly, why can't they see me?" He asked, sadly staring off at his family.

"Because we have merely been showing you what their lives have been like, Pepperpaw. You aren't really here. We've been looking after them all this time. For you. To gain your trust. Do we have it?" The first voice asked hopefully.

"No." Pepperpaw mewed firmly. "Trust is earned, not freely given to y'all. Ma taught me that." He said, voice cracking.

"What more are your questions?" The voices whispered.

"Who are y'all?" Pepperpaw meowed.

"I am Whisperwind. I am of Darkclan, born three seasons after the Great Storm and the Great Rebellion in the time you and your family call Fish-Leap season. Warriors call it Greenleaf. I was born third in a litter of four to Fallensky and Pondflower. My mentor was the wise and respected Groveclaw, and in my third season-cycle of life, my mate, Jaytail, birthed two kits, my kits. Rainpaw and Pricklefoot, who both reside here with me now. In my eighth season-cycle of life, I died in battle alongside two of my five grandkits, Kestrelpaw and Egretpaw, fighting in the first Raid of Shadowclan."

"Wait…so you're…dead?" Pepperpaw gasped.

"Yes. For many seasons, I have stayed here." Whisperwind replied quietly.

"Where is _here_?" Pepperpaw wondered. "Certainly not by my family?"

"We can only reveal that, and ourselves, if you believe. Do you believe, Pepperpaw?" Whisperwind breathed. Pepperpaw could swear he felt warm breath on his ear. He closed his eyes.

"Is this a dream?" He asked. "That's my final question." He added.

"No, more of a vision." Whisperwind said slowly.

_If this is a vision…then these cats must have come to me, and not me to them._ Pepperpaw thought. _And if they came to me, and I'm not just hallucinating or something, then they have the power to visit cats. Which makes them…real. They're real. This isn't nonsense, not if they have shown me my family. I believe, Whisperwind._

"Good." The voice came. Pepperpaw opened his eyes. Before him stood a pale silver tabby tom, with eyes as green as the meadow, shining with happiness and warmth. _Whisperwind._ Pepperpaw thought. Beside him stood a lithe she-cat, tall and elegant, with sleek blue-gray fur and knowing amber eyes. _Jaytail._ Next to her stood a small silver tabby she-cat, an apprentice, with the same eyes of amber. _Rainpaw._ Alongside her was a handsome gray-blue tom with amber eyes, just like his mother. His pelt was spiky and short. _Pricklefoot_. A pretty white she-cat pressed her flank to the tom's, and two apprentice-sized cats wove in and out between her legs. A swan-white tom and a dark gray she-cat. _Egretpaw. Kestrelpaw._ Behind them smiled an old, once-proud brown tom with one dark green eye and one of gold. _Groveclaw_. He stood with a pair of cats, both silver, one with white paws and one with darker tabby stripes. _Fallensky and Pondflower_. They gazed at Pepperpaw, both sets of green eyes holding greetings without words.

"Welcome." They all spoke as one.

"H-Hello." Pepperpaw murmured.

"Pepperpaw, you wondered where we were. Welcome, child. Welcome to Starclan." Whisperwind purred. Pepperpaw's eyes widened. All around him were trees, a glowing, lush, green forest. In the distance, he spotted rolling golden-grassed fields, sparkling rivers, and endless dazzling mountain ranges. Cats moved throughout every hunting ground, voices raised in greeting as they see each other pad past. In the midst of the young tom's reverie, Egretpaw raised his berry pink nose, and shifted his snowy ears.

"Pepperpaw." He meowed, voice surprisingly wise for a cat so young, "Dawn's fast approaching. You wouldn't want to get caught up late by Splashwing, would you?" Despite all the wisdom, his eyes sparkled with an apprentice's humor.

"I really don't think he needs anymore punishments, do you?" Kestrelpaw giggled. Pepperpaw rolled his eyes.

"I agree! What a rotten bunch of-" The speckled brown tom meowed, only to be bowled over. "Wha-? Who?" He blustered, writhing underneath his attacker. Once he looked up, his eyes met a gaze as clear and crystal blue as the skies above his family's den.

"Hey! You made it!" The sweet voice bubbled over with joy.

"Amberpaw!" Pepperpaw purred.

"Of course, silly! Who'd you think it was?" The ginger she-cat laughed.

"But yeah, I made it." He smiled. Feeling brave, Pepperpaw reached up and licked her cheek. Amberpaw smiled shyly.

"You believe now, Pepperpaw?" She whispered, rolling off of him and instead cuddling up by his side. They both stared up at Starclan's sky, entranced by the dancing light of the glittering silvery specks bedazzling the velvety black-blue heavens.

"Yes." He sighed happily after a moment. "But, I still trust my instincts, and don't y'all forget it!" He joked, looking up at the starry cats, and back to the beautiful she-cat by his side.

"I don't think we ever will." Amberpaw teased, making Whisperwind laugh.

"It is time for you to return, apprentices." He meowed. "I bid you a safe journey. Let's hope we won't meet again for a long, long time…" His voice faded out as her touched each cat upon the head. Instantly, their eyes closed.

* * *

_Five moons later... _

"Pepperclaw! Pepperclaw! Pepperclaw!" Darkclan cheered as the speckled brown tom stood proudly beside his leader. At his right was a silver-furred warrior, Shiverstep, and on his left, a radiant ginger she-cat with eyes as bright as stars. Amberflight. Pepperclaw lifted his gaze to the sky, which shone with stars. _Thank you, Starclan._ He thought gratefully. _I wouldn't be here without you._ He purred, and Amberflight pressed her cheek to his. Stagpelt glared jealously from the other side of Goldenstar. The new warriors watched as the kits pranced about their mothers, eyes big, chattering about what their warrior names will be. Pepperclaw let out a light chuckle. Amberflight sighed happily.

"We'll have some like that, one day." She breathed.

"Yes." Pepperclaw murmured. "And we'll name one Whisperkit."

**Like it? Thought y'all needed a light one-shot challenge after the last two...Happy endings! Yay! Sparkles and Rainbows! This was "**_All apprentices must visit the Moonstone at least once before becoming Warriors because seeing the sacred place encourages their belief in StarClan and sensibility."_


End file.
